It was quite an afternoon of tennis at Wimbledon today. After the fireworks on Wednesday, few thought there’d be a comparable second act, but there was.

Roger Federer and Milos Raonic got together again for a rematch of their 2014 Wimbledon semifinal. This time around, it was the Canadian’s day in a 5-set thriller 6-3, 6-7(3), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in nearly three-and-a-half hours.

From the start, you could tell this was a different Raonic from the one Federer had seen two years earlier. In fact, this time Raonic held his first service game and then he just kept on holding.

While Raonic thumped his serve and forehand, Federer blinked early dropping serve in his second service game. And that was the end of the first set.

With the prospect of coming from two sets down again a task too great even for Federer, the Swiss had to solve Raonic and win the second. But the Canadian didn’t offer many opportunities, serving even better, while Federer scratched and clawed and seemed to be struggling more.

Federer, though, kept varying pace, moving Raonic around and his hard work paid off. He got to a tiebreaker, got an early mini-break and we were level.

With a set in the bag, Federer calmed down after an early wobble. Raonic seemed to get tense and began to stray. Federer got into a nice serving groove and he was able to grab a break and closed out the set with ease. It was Roger’s match.

Federer continued the momentum in the fourth, and began making serious inroads on the Raonic serve. Things looked promising for a quick finish. But his failure to convert on three break points and several other mini-chances would ultimately be his downfall.

Serving 40-0, 5-6, we were heading for a tiebreak. That’s when things fell apart. Out of nowhere Federer tossed in two double faults to go to deuce. Where there was no hope, now there was. And Raonic pounced threading a backhand passing shot to give him the set. The crowd, the tennis world was stunned.

A fifth it was and after playing almost four hours Wednesday, how much would the 34-year-old have left? The answer: not much.

Federer served 1-2 when he memorable stumbled lunging at the net. Down break point, he received treatment on his right thigh. With tension high, he somehow returned to save the break point but eventually lost serve and it was over.

Oh, those opportunities in the fourth set.

“I can’t believe I served a double fault twice,” said Federer. “Inexplicable for me really. Very sad about that and angry at myself because never should I allow him to get out of that set that easily. I mean, he deserved it. He earned it at the end. But I helped him so much to get back into that game. I would have liked to see a breaker because I was the better player for the set. I know he’s great in tie-breaks and all that, it was always going to be tough. But I would have liked to see him scramble more than that.”

Raonic, who had never beaten Federer before in a Slam and had never been to a Grand Slam final, was just as surprised.

“That’s an incredible comeback for me,” Raonic said. “I was struggling through the third and fourth sets, and with just a little opening I managed to turn around.

“Today, I persevered. I was plugging away. I was struggling through many parts of the match,” he said. “Attitude kept me in the match. I think that’s what made the biggest difference.”

Raonic served well like I thought and he did well enough off the ground. But the big strides he made were in his net game which saved his rear more than once. And under John McEnroe, he’s become more emotional.

“Two years ago, I bottled up all the difficulties I had on court and never got it out,” Raonic said. “Today, I found a way to keep plugging away, keep myself in the match, then turn it around. I was quite more vocal and a lot more positive on court.

“He’s definitely put an emphasis on it. A lot of times I felt in matches that I need to sort of calm myself down to let things from getting out of control.”

Federer had never lost a Wimbledon semifinal before (10-0) and with no Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic, this was likely that last chance at 18.

“This one clearly hurts because I felt I could have had it,” said Federer. “It was really so, so close. It clearly hurts.

Federer, who turns 35 in just a month, can take the fact he did beat Marin Cilic and he should have finished off Raonic today. But the other fact is, he didn’t.

“The 10 sets I played in the last two matches really gives me the belief that I’m tougher physically than I thought I was,” said Federer. “I never thought I could do this before the tournament started. Actually, it’s very encouraging for the season, hopefully for the rest of my career. Not that I was worried it was going to end somehow, but I was insecure coming into Wimbledon.

“It’s been a great run for me here, I must say. I just hope with the slip I had in the fifth, I’m going to be fine tomorrow and beyond. I totally overachieved here. The match against Cilic was epic. It was fun to be part of that match.”

In the second match, Andy Murray had his way as expected with Tomas Berdych, thrashing the Czech 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 to advance to his third Wimbledon final and third straight Grand Slam final of the season. And on Sunday there will be no Novak Djokovic or Federer waiting in the final.

“It’s obviously the first time I’ll play a Grand Slam final against someone that isn’t Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic. So that’s different,” said Murray. “But you never know how anyone’s going to deal with the pressures of a Slam final. I just have to go out there and concentrate on my side and do what I can to prepare well for it.”

So Murray-Raonic it is.

“Milos is a very tough opponent,” said Murray. “He’s played very well on the grass this year and earned his right to the final by beating one of the best, if not the best player at this event. He deserves to be there.”

I only saw the 5th set, and Milos played better in that set. Milos has made incremental progress (hampered at times by injuries), but that seems to be a good path for him. It should be a fun final based upon their Queen’s Club match, but Murray will be playing for his 8th grass court title. That is a big edge.

The Federer, Raonic match demonstrated tennis morphing into a lower skill, slam bang serve game. No offense to the big guys, I am happy for them that they are able to put their god given gift of height to good use, but it is hurting the game.

It’s time to create 2 divisions. One for guys up to 6ft 2inches tall or so, and another division above that. The cutoff would have to be low enough for an adequate pool of taller guys. If this idea sounds a little too far out in left field, then consider why females and males don’t compete against each other in most sports. There are physical differences.

You started OK before Wimbledon and wanted just to see your man play and enjoy, considering his losses on grass against Thiem and Zvererv. Fair enough.

But then, after he beat few nobody-Brits and after the King of Tennis lost unexpectedly from Querrey, you started believing media hype and hoping Roger could win #18. And it appears most of you here truly believed… especially after that escape in Cilic match… #18 was so close you could almost see a white&gold blazer on center court receiving that golden trophy with the kitschy pineapple at the top!

Few sobering facts for delusional folks falling into above mentioned category:
Roger is ranked #3.
He got “beyond easy” draw and, as usual, favourable scheduling where he was allowed to play every single match under controlled climate without interruptions. Let me quote his statement after Djoker’s loss at Court 1 and numerous rain interruptions: “Credit to myself (!?!) for winning so much, so that I am always put on center court…”

He beat players any Top 10 player should beat:
1. Pella #52
2. Two British anonymouses ranked +700 and 91
3. Johnson #29
4. Cilic #13

Then, he lost against the first Top 10 player he faced (Raonic #7)

Considering all this happened on Roger’s favorite surface, your expectations before Wimbledon were justified.
Media hype brought your hopes up, just to be cruelly crushed by a not-so-special solid Top 10 player, as expected by anyone objective.

Roger is still a great player and will be playing at high level (Top 10) for a while – he is just not at the level to compete for big titles any more.

As far as his fans go, Roger could do better – it was sad watching after Cilic match, Roger passing by and not giving a shit about adoring middle-aged ladies in RF ballcaps waiting for him to sign their souvenirs. Today again, he just passed by them like they didn’t exist. Some may say he was pissed because he lost, but Tsonga after his crushing 5 set loss to Murray stopped and signed for fans, Djoker did it too at Court 1 after a really bad (and unexpected) loss to Querrey. I don’t think there is a rule about signing for fans after the match, but it clearly shows players’ personalities and their respect to their fans – it’s safe to say Roger has none – or like he would put it himself “credit to myself for having them waiting for my signatures that I won’t give them”…

TB,
spot on.
It was impossible to miss Rog’s betrayal of his loyal fans who begged for signatures. And then, some say Nole is classless.

One thing I don’t agree concerns the big titles. Roger will still be able to contest for the biggest titles, just not the Slams. In all likelihood. As long as the match is not more than three sets long, he will do fine. He will be a threat at the OG and masters tournaments.

There have been plenty of exits by players who have not atopped to sign, my goodness what a bunch of jealous haters. The guy has treated his fans throughout his career with plenty of signings and whatnot. A non issue, let him juat digest a togh loss already. Its the church of novak at it again with the anti fed propoganda cause their man got beat in his prime early in a Slam. Boo hoo.
BBB,
Spot on!

Tennis is a great equalizer. The other day, Roger won a match wherein he snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and yesterday, it was vice-versa.

And ironically it was his second serve which deserted him at a crucial moment serving behind at 5-6 and up 40-0 where he unbelievably fell apart by losing confidence in his serving ability and atrociously served two double faults. It would be vivid to recall his interview in the aftermath of the quarter finals where he sounded so much confident about his serve especially the second serve and yet that proved to be his undoing in the semi final, a match he should have convincingly won having gained the momentum in the third and fourth set where he was intimidating and dicatating Raonic. But the match turned upside down once Raonic won the fourth set quite unexpectedly and from thereon there was no stopping him.

For Roger, this would be ofcourse a very huge disappointment for the stakes were very high. It was his best chance of winning another major and adding to his record shattering tally of 17 which would have served him very well considering that Novak is verily threatening to eclipse his record in the next few years.If he went on to win, it would be also his 8th title at Wimbledon which would be also record breaking and solidify & cement his place even further as the best ever on Grass Courts. But, all that is now passé and Roger has to try his luck another day. Nonetheless, with age not on his side, Roger would have very rare chances to capitalize going forward.

cakewalk for Murray. He’s playing someone who has played 14 sets in the last 3 rounds. This last one would have taken his legs out. Raonic will be washed out on sunday and lose in straight.

Raonic doesn’t yet have a slam in him. A 35 year old way (WAY) past his prime, coming off a tough 5 setter, almost beat him and he had to go to the fifth set to beat him. Not exactly a vote of confidence.

Sisay,
You have your opinion. I have mine. If you think Fed is arrogant? Have you seen Novak has shown signs of the very same thing. On Court, where behavior matters.
Novak in this tournament displayed arrogance by the “let’s hear it for me” after a winner and then, on another occasion, the wide mouth confrontation yell and stare AT the crowd. It can go both ways on personality and attitude of what you think is a bad personality trait. Players have to express their emotion of what they are doing in some form or another, and for the most part, I don’t care.
The product on the court is what I care about the most, the performance on court and the style of which they deliver it. All the rest is just gossip and trash talk and “oh I don’t like how he walks, talks.” I mean really? In the end if a guy has 12 or 17 Slams that is what is going to matter. Respect. They are both great players, one GOAT, one chasing that respect.
My end point is this, there are very few who think he is “arrogant”, and those like to repeat it whenever they get a chance because frankly they don’t know what they are talking about. Fed is the most loved and popular player on the planet, so that goes to show how far an accused personality trait goes in tennis. pretty much nowhere.

But yesterday Novak fans behaved nice here, with oerhaps 1-2 exceptions.Most of them, who wanted Milos to win, did nit pop up. It was a sign of respect from them. And TB’s posts were not offensive at all.

I just think a mean comment you seem to be propelled to make and really, is there any need? You think that our top 5 players should beat every player. Yes, by the very fact of their positions. Not so in reality. For your information, if you remember the Media hype that you have gone on and on about. These touted non players, were players playing as if they were top 50 players. Murray’s opponents were no more, no less, until he faced Tsonga. As has so often been said in the past, you play the opponent opposite, who could have their day, like no other. You never under estimate your opponent. Guess that’s why you switched from tennis to beer making. So, obviously your observations are made based on biased jealousies. How sad.

We are extremely proud of Federer. He must have felt the pain of losing as much as Cilic felt 48 hours before. But, that is sport.

Totally, yesterday, It was a great match. I thought Raonic played a corker of a match. Federer most definitely had his chances, but was unable to convert. Milos has been in the zone for quite some time and I do feel that perhaps Mac has brought a different dimension, even if it is an extra pair of ears. It is always good to have those in the know, on your team.

But I really don’t think that sarcasm or see through nastiness is necessary. This is wimbledon. Fed was never up as being the favorite. That was always Andy or Nole.

And there is nothing wrong with believing that Federer could win his 18th slam. Why not? The tournament is up for everyone to win. Call it sentimentality, romanticism, who cares?

Roger did us proud. I don’t blame him for not spending as much time on court as he would normally do with the fans. He made it clear in his press conference, the stage was for Milos. Most importantly was ensuring that any injuries sustained in the match could be attended to as soon as he could.

Unlike that awful Marcus Willis, who took the stage, signing photos when Fed won his match, Is now getting married, signed a deal with Hello magazine and milking his 2 minutes of fame for everything it is worth.

Hoping that Federer’s health stays high and look forward to seeing him play at the next slam.

I, for one, truly believe that he can win another slam. I would not relegate him to the 250s or 500s or Masters’ tournaments only. They are all there for him to aim for. It is clear he does not want to retire, so the less people talk about that the better. Ridiculous is what it is.

Good luck Federer!

To fans of Milos and to Andy for the final tomorrow. I hope it is a gripper, and as awe inspiring as the last two semi finals that Federer has played.

Lots of grit, fight and heart out there for tomorrow. May the best man win on the day!

I Dont know whats fanatical about fans of a particular player believing that their favorite might win the title, i mean surely thats what fans do, get behind their favorite, cheer them on, its called being a fan not a fanatic, oh my god the audacity of these Federer fans getting behind their guy and believing he could win, some fans have such a bloody cheek jeez ! ….

BBB, Like you, I do not love nastiness. But it is not in my power to stop it. It also not my main purpose here, tbh. When I see nasty comments toward Nole I strike back or ignore them. And it’s my right to like Wog Boy and TB. If somebody here is bothered by that, it’s hers/his problem.

It’s ok. Fed’s GOAT, no? He tried his very best! What immaculate tennis, no?!
With 14 errors in the match, Fed lost. If only he had played Querrey instead of Willis & Evans…
Milos defines the weak era, right?

He didn’t balance like a ballerina. It was boring.
Unless he deliberately rolled on the ground to celebrate winning the whole thing (he did numerous times), he did what was called a tumble like a chicken when Milos had another great winner. He said he lost because he fell & injured himself.

Sure, VP. i prefer to comment on it when it happens, and if I were to comment on it when Fed fans are doing it, it wouldn’t have much credibility, as I’ve made it clear I don’t like the Fed hype and it would simply look as though I’m finding excuses to object to what Fed fans post.

I am certainly not going to tell you who you can like or not – but I assume that comment was not directed at me in any event.

“Van Persie Says:
I am mostly annoyed by the posters, who try to be examples for others. We are here to cheer or to enjoy tennis and not to give life lessons.
(July 9th, 2016 at 9:17 am)”

I try not to be personal on this forum, but sometimes simply cannot resist. This is one of those instances.
This girl (Van Persie) is one of if not the smartest and most astute observers of human nature I have ever encountered at any internet forum. She is also brutally honest and genuine, unlike majority of the commenters here. Her comment I quoted above is just one of the examples and there have been many since she came here. To realize that English is only her 3rd or even 4th language, brings even more weight to my assessment.
You rock girl, and I am proud you like my posts!

And now… let me be subject of criticism from our life lessons givers and ‘genuine’ personalities like jalep, willow, madmax, etc…

1. For all the talk of Federer and Djokovic and how nasty some of their fans are to one another, it’s Milos and Andy time. So onto that!

2. Unfortunately, talk of strong and weak eras has to crop up in aspects of Andy’s career, or in defending Jo Tsonga as a top player, for example. Jo has Zero Slam Count. Does that make him a bum no different than a 200s ranked player, with a career of total Slam Count failure? Or is there something to be said about the times Tsonga played in, the quality of his competition? With Andy, is 2-8 in Slam finals a disgrace? Or is it because he faced terrific competition and he would have won much more if he had played in Leyton Hewitt’s heyday?

3. I put Andy in the top 20 players all time in the ATP, likely Top 15 if I knew more about the early ATP players, with a chance to maybe end in the Top 10.

4. Milos has had a few negative early in his career labels hung on him. Boring servebot with a bad backhand, unemotional, bad mover.
Raonic is showing that he is far more than a servebot. An exciting net charger with a very, very solid backhand now. Unemotional? No, he is emotional, but has strong self-control. Bad mover? Maybe 4 years ago. Not now, as anyone who saw his midcourt movement against Federer can vouch. And the improvement is from dedicated hard work on his mobility skills, top level practice partners with speed, the work of Ljubicic and Carlos Moya.

You’re the one to judge about dragging this blog into the mud? You who said on your primary blog (Tenngrand, a.k.a. Rafa-fanatics blog) that you come on Tennis X only when you want to be obnoxious?!? I love when you start moralizing here and speaking from your high horse. And then you switch your handle to another name and start with insults…

I respectfully suggest you slowly drift away from the mud this blog is to Tenngrand, and come back here only as lakie – at least in that format you’re more entertaining!

Jaleps been here a long time, a lot longer than you, and is well respected on this forum, shes also very clever and knowledgeable when it comes to tennis, so i dont know who you think you are to tell people what to do or where to post, but then again once a bully always a bully ….

TB
We’ve been over this road before. Shoot I see you are off of your moderation. That’s too bad. Anyway I don’t have to defend anything. I stand by what I said due to the circumstances at the time. Keep on trolling…

But for once i have to say im in agreement with Chris Ford 1, we have a GS final that doesnt feature Novak or Roger, its about Andy and Milos, hopefully Andy will win his second Wimbledon title, GO ANDY ;-)) ….

I was not addressing you, since you said yourself on this forum you’re bipolar and often depressed and sensitive to posters, being a nice guy I try to stay away from fragile folks like you. But since you are addressing me, let me remind you that I was not telling lakie where to post – I simply suggested (even “respectfully suggested”) that she goes elsewhere if she doesn’t like “the mud” this blog is according to her own assessment.

So, I demand you be careful when addressing me from now on and don’t twist my word. Otherwise, I could be much less civil in talking to you. Your post to me are very irritating and it would be great if you could abstain from addressing me.
You were absent from this blog for a while and the blog was great!

TB You dont intimidate me, so dont even bother to try, and this forum was so much better when you dissapeared after your favorite lost, also i may take a break on occasion, but i will never be driven away by the likes of you so forget it, and BTW you addressed me first ….

Re: 3:17 post.
Just hurled reading that. Please stick to tennis, this is not a GOAT argument on who the best internet poster is of all time. It’s obvious it’s just a love fest between you two. Exchange information and talk privately about how great each other is, then you will in your own glorious nirvana.
;)

I actually don’t have a problem with who anyone talks to or likes here, Van Persie. But the “Real Novak Fan” had a problem with me talking to Giles. I refused to be told who I could like or not like, talk to, not talk to. So, you know very well that you were trolling me on that… well done, VP.

Re. Marcus Willis, a guy who makes a living by charging £30.00 an hour – when he can get the work – few will grudge him for making hay when the sun shines. He really isn’t awful, he’s actually very likeable….and it made a light-hearted interlude for many to chuckle at.

And what Willow said re. your displeasure with the comment on Roger “tumbles out of Wimbledon” …she seriously has a point, i.e. it was possibly Sean’s attempt at humour.

@J-Kath 4:52…….You missed me?? LOL I have been working 2 days on a garage sale!! I am pooped. Did not get to watch Serena today but I am watching the news now and so glad she won. I will watch it tonight. Saw her presser and she was a happy camper…..22….wow, just WOW!! So happy for Andy and I believe he will hoist the trophy! Congrats to Andy fan base!
FYI…it’s nice to be missed! Okie

Okie i hope your right about Andy, and what a great weekend for you if it comes true, Serena your favorite on the womens side, and Andy your second favorite on the mens side, and a successful garage sale lol ;-)) ….

What worries me is the picture of Andy. For a change it is “straight” in the sense we don’t get a chuckle (like, bath, Xmas sweater etc.).

But then everything worries me. Glad you ladies are sending good vibes and hoping I don’t have to go and water my weeds again ….my settees are two seaters….not big enuf for me to hide behind like Margot.

Excellent post, Travis. What you said about Roger was signature Roger but the Federer fans just don’t get it. Just like Charles Manson had total control over his cult followers, Federer has total control over his sycophants. I swear that Federer could go up to 99% of those middle-aged soccer mom fans of his and slap the living s”’ out of them and they’d laugh giddily and beg for his autograph as if nothing ever happened. That’s how hopelessly stupid and delusional they are…

J-Kath yeah all rather silly TBH, anyhow i have to work this afternoon, so silly of me to work on the afternoon of the Wimbledon final, my stomach is in knots, dont know how im supposed to concentrate, Fedexpress is quite correct in that its even more nerve wracking when you cant watch it ….

Willow Says:
How dare they, i mean how dare these Federer fans have faith and follow their favorite, and hope he will win, how delusional must they be to actually follow him like that ? ….

July 10th, 2016 at 8:00 am

Willow,

Who are you talking about please? Firstly, of course I would have wanted Roger to win. Goes without saying, now that Milos has beaten him, it would be obvious that I would want the winner of his match to go on and to win the title, but I respect Andy and I respect Margot and those of you who support Andy.

Wished both sets of fans all the best yesterday for a great match.

You cannot dictate to people on this forum who they should follow, or not support. At

Madmax it was sarcasm towards Ron, even Markus picked up on it earlier in the thread at 12.50 am yesterday, with regard to my post at 11.45 am yesterday, come on you know me better than that surely ?, go read ….

We all know that people on this forum want to start fights if you don’t support the one that they want to support, but who cares? Stick to your own. Support them and wish the best for the final. Best man will win.

Don’t understand why is obvious you will want the one who beat Fed to win, just because he beat him?! The moment Fed loss I am all for Murray winning, have no problem at all with a player with beat the one I root for more losing next round. I mean, Murray lost 2 straight slam finals, do you really want him to lose another just to make Raonic win against Fed more impressive?! I don’t, but I see your point.

J-Kath. Marcus Willis. Great that you and others were able to see the lighter side of things. I couldn’t and still can’t. Yes, it’s wonderful that he no longer has to charge 30 quid a lesson. He has sold his story to Hello Magazine. It was the just the hype J-Kath. Day in, day out. Got to me. All over the place. And incorrect details. Girlfriend was not a Dentist. A Dentist’s nurse. Big difference. Both important jobs, but the British Press go over the top and that is what irritated me.

J-Kath, the tumble. Thought it was a crap headline to be honest. It was a great match, and Sean’s humour was a poor attempt for me, could have said a lot more about the match. But hey.

Willow. No axe to grind with you. Just when you said, How dare they, the federer fans, plural. Perhaps you should have addressed it singularly to the person in question. As I have said to you many times in the past, be yourself. Some trolls coming over here, don’t know them from any other sites. Not the energy nor the time.

Daniel, my point was simply, wanted the slayer of Fed to go on and get the maiden Wimbledon. Murray has grown on me the last couple of years, but not there yet. Don’t like the screaming, shouting and swearing on court, that is the downside of him, the person. Of course, there is so much more positive things to say about him, but I leave that for his fans, hey?

Anyway, this is Murray’s time now to celebrate and I was genuinely happy that his daughter would be involved in the photoshoot, eventually, somehow. That would be a cutie.

I think this is the first ‘official’ report on Federer’s knee after his knee injury when he slipped in the Raonic match.

So glad for that.

11-07-2016 – The Vavel – International Sports paper

World number three Roger Federer suffered a scary fall during his semifinal loss to Milos Raonic at Wimbledon; however, his agent confirmed that the 34-year-old did not do any additional damage to his knee, which he had surgery on in January.